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During our Missional Community leadership training we start with a definition of missional community. Then, we clarify what it is not. A Missional Community is not primarily a Bible study.

The goal of most Bible studies is to study the Bible. We believe the goal of a missional community is to make disciples who make disciples. We clarify that the mission of making disciples with our missional communities will require studying the bible, but often bible studies don’t require that you make disciples.

In fact, our discovery has been that many people have studied the Bible for years and have never led anyone to faith in Jesus, equipped people for ministry and sent out more to do the same. It’s as if we have come to believe that knowing the Bible equals faith in and obedience to God.

Often when I speak to leaders and people who wish we did more bible studies at Soma, I ask them what was the last book of the Bible they studied. Let’s say they’ve respond with “James”.

The New Testament doctrine of ministry rests therefore not on the clergy-laity distinction but on the twin and complementary pillars of the priesthood of all believers and the gifts of the Spirit. Today, four centuries after the Reformation, the full implications of this Protestant affirmation have yet to be worked out. The clergy-laity dichotomy is a direct carry-over from pre-Reformation Roman Catholicism and a throwback to the Old Testament priesthood. It is one of the principal obstacles to the church effectively being God’s agent of the Kingdom today because it creates a false idea that only “holy men,” namely, ordained ministers, are really qualified and responsible for leadership and significant ministry. In the New Testament there are functional distinctions between various kinds of ministries but no hierarchical division between clergy and laity. —Howard Snyder

When we go back to the Word of God and read it afresh, we see that the clergy profession is the result of our human culture and history and not of God’s will for the church. It is simply impossible to construct a defensible biblical justification for the institution of clergy as we know it. —Christian Smith

Church according to Miriam-Webster's online dictionary:

1: a building for public and especially Christian worship

2: the clergy or officialdom of a religious body

3: a body or organization of religious believers: as a: the whole body of Christians b: denomination <the Presbyterian church> c: congregation

4: a public divine worship <goes to church every Sunday>

Webster defines church according to the way this word is used today. I was taught this same definition as a little boy when I would put my hands together and recite the rhyme: "Here is the church, and here is the steeple; open the door and here are all the people."

Jesus, however, introduced the term "church" with a very different meaning in mind. He used a word "ekklesia" that simply described a group or assembly of people. This is the original definition of the word. He described "church" as those people who were following Him-people walking in allegiance to him. People. His followers. Nothing more than that.

It is hard to believe that our website has been in existence for four years. During that time we have posted almost two hundred different articles. More importantly, through the website, we have been able to get to know many of you personally and we have been able to help one another in our walk with God and in the ministry that He has called us to. We are particularly amazed and blessed by the number of people across the Russian-speaking world that have contacted us and let us know that the principles discussed on this website are close to their heart and are a reality in their ministry.

There is no real way to measure the influence and impact of this website, but as we hear stories of changed lives, new disciples, and new churches, we realize that God has had a plan to use this website as at least a small instrument in the building of His kingdom.

I remember well my days of pastoring and working in a denominational district office. Back then, I would get the occasional call from a pastor or church leader asking for a reference concerning a former church member or adherent.

In some cases, they would ask for a letter of recommendation assuring their staff that this person (or family) had been members in good standing and weren’t subject to church discipline. They especially wanted to know if the person or family in question had a reputation of trouble-making.

The practice of “letters of commendation” is thoroughly biblical. In the New Testament era, if you relocated from one church to another, a “letter of commendation” went ahead of you. That letter was to inform the church to which you were relocating if you had a “good report” or if you had a “bad report.”

When I look at a city, I don’t focus on neighborhoods or individuals or even centers of power.

Instead, I look for circles.

Each circle I find is unique.
Sometimes a circle is a family, sometimes it is a group of friends, sometimes it is a group that works together, and other times it is a group that plays together.
Here is why these circles are important: with one exception, circles are just like a local church.

• Circles have a leadership structure and a decision making process
• Circles have a sense of history, identity, purpose and future
• Circles have members who care for one another

The only thing that circles are missing is Christ.

Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ . . . (Romans 16:25, NIV)

Ever since I've been a Christian, I've observed that most believers can be divided up into two camps: the libertines and the legalists.

In my experience, libertines are those who go to church, own a Bible, and profess to believe in Jesus. However, they appear to have no vital relationship with the Lord. And they hold to the same values as do non-Christians.

If you were to examine their lifestyle, you would discover that libertines behave scantly different from non-Christians. Their attitude is that God only wants us to be nice to others and try our best to be good. Beyond that, the Almighty doesn't particularly care how we live. So long as a person mentally assents that God exists and Jesus is Savior, they are worthy to bear the name "Christian."

Shane Claiborne writes: “Being a Christian is about choosing Jesus and deciding to do something incredibly daring with your life.”

In my former life as a pastor, I was a dispenser of comfortable Christianity. I took on the job of creating a “conducive environment” for worship. What this really meant was making a worship event cushy enough that people would want to come and then come back: comfortable seats, coffee, pleasing worship music, and a sermon that holds attention. Unfortunately, regularly attending a comfortable worship event has become the primary marker of what it means to be a Christian today.

It is vital to understand that house church networks are not the same thing, in any way, as churches with small groups (even if those small groups are called “house churches.”

The cell church (I will adopt the term “cell” church to refer to all types of small-group-based churches) has been a strong movement in North America over the past 30 years while the house church network is only just beginning to emerge.

Nevertheless, in order to evaluate what God is doing in both of these streams it is very useful to recognize the differences:

1. Within the house church network, each house church is fully, and completely real church. The attitude of the member comes out of an awareness that “I am the church.”

The cell church is an extension of a larger church. It is a smaller piece, a ministry of, the larger, real church. The cell member tends to regard himself as one who “belongs to” the small group and is a “member of” the larger church.

Editors Note:
We often are asked questions about finances and giving in simple churches. Without question there are different understandings, opinions and applications of truth in this area; so we are not trying to present an article that is the ultimate answer. This article is simply a good one to generate discussion and learning in this area. Read, enjoy, and discuss. Let’s learn from one another.

"Follow the money!" The haunting words from Deep Throat, the unidentified Watergate informant for the Washington Post, proved to be the critical voice that unraveled the corruption in the Nixon White House.